After Switzerland, we hopped back onto the coach and headed south to Italy! First stop was Tuscany, which was just a quick stop to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was a literal quick stop, we had perhaps 30min there to take pictures and get souvenirs (if we were fast).
We were really excited because it was the second Wonder of the world we were going to see. The place was flooded with tourists like ourselves.
What many people don't know is that the Piazza Dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles) isn't only home to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In fact, the Tower of Pisa is actually simply a bell tower. In the heart of the Piazza is a duomo, a medieval cathedral of the Archdiocese of Pisa entitled to St. Mary of the Assumption.
Pictured above on the left with the dome is the Pisa Baptistery. It is the largest baptistery in Italy.
The Pisa Cathedral and the Leaning Tower of Pisa
The majestic Leaning Tower of Pisa herself!
It was only after 5 years of construction when the building had reached the third floor level, did the tower start to lean. This was due to the weak subsoil and poor foundation that led to the building SINKING into the ground. It was then left untouched for a century (wow!), allowing the subsoil to stabilise itself, preventing the building from collapsing.
In 1272, construction finally resumed. The upper floors were built with one side taller than the other. The seventh and the final floor was added in 1319.
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By the time the building was completed, the lean was approximately 1 degree, or 80 cm (2.5 feet) from vertical. At its greatest, measured prior to 1990, the lean measured approximately 5.5 degrees. As of 2010, the lean was reduced to approximately 4 degrees.
Unfortunately, we did not have time to explore the Piazza. I would have loved to enter the beautiful cathedral. It looks absolutely stunning inside, from the photos you can find online.
We weren't lucky enough to go up the tower either.
We were however, lucky to have made friends on the tour who could help us take pictures! My selfie stick broke :(
Also, I refused to be one of those people who pose like they are pushing the Tower -_-
*****
Since Tusacany is such a short post due to the crazy short amount of time we had there, I decided that I will talk a bit more about our tour package and the people on our tour.
Our tour had around 50 persons and it was mostly dominated by West Malaysian Chinese, with a couple of Australians, a pair of Americans, a few Filipinos, a few Kiwis, a Singaporean and a Thai family, and a solo Tunisian and Vietnamese. And of course an East Malaysian (hola!) and one solo Bruneian, aka my BF.
It goes without saying that the Westerners had their own "gang" while the Chinese had their own. Wt were lucky enough to start making friends as we slowly ventured into Switzerland and to Rome. We got close to two couples from West Malaysia, and we started exploring places together when we got to Rome later on.
We've all seen from reality shows like Big Brother and ANTM where too many personalities are confined into a tiny space, and there is just a clash. It wasn't too bad though but people got on each other's nerves. I especially loathed and cursed those who would leave their things in the coach from the night before to "chop" the seats in front. That isn't fair because it means those slobs can sleep in late and take their time while others who wake up early and ON TIME have to be pushed to the back. I don't want to be racist, but there were people who complained to the tour guide about those who woke up early and managed to get their seats in front. They retaliated by putting their stuff there overnight. I always had the urge to chuck them down to the bottom of the damn coach.
Also, out tour wasn't a young tour like Contiki, so we had elderly people on the tour. I wouldn't suggest this tour to elderly people, because there is simply way too much walking involved. There was one time our tour guide had us dropped at a WRONG hotel, and we had to walk 3 blocks down with our luggage to the right one, making us late for our evening tour in Florence. It became a night tour and everything was closed.
There was also a time where we walked so much I felt so bad for the elderly couple from Australia, as well as a grandmother from Canada.
Most of the people on the tour were very friendly and harmless. Ive managed to become Friends with a couple of them on Facebook, except for those that I didn't like, who were loud and racist to us Chinese. Sorry. There was one time this Australian guy spoke to us like we were morons and couldn't understand English. I am sorry but my English is probably better than his :)
Christmas is in 4 days, and I am excited! This year, my BF and I are going to spend it in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Literally anywhere is better than Brunei.
Happy holidays x
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